LA PUENTE – Officials hope to complete the first phase of repairs to the city’s aging sewer system as early as this weekend.

Contractors have been working since last year to upgrade old and damaged sewer lines on Glendora Avenue and, more recently, Hacienda Boulevard. The $16 million in renovations are part of a larger, five-year capitol improvement plan to repair the city’s more than 50-year-old sewer system.

“The project has been going very smoothly,” Mayor Louie Lujan said. “We are very happy with the (upgrades) and the overall quality.”

City officials said about 330,000 feet of pipeline is facing a combination of capacity problems and deterioration issues. In some areas, larger-diameter pipes are needed to keep up with increased sewer usage; and in other areas, cracked pipes need to be repaired to keep raw sewage from seeping into the city’s water table, City Engineer Sid Mousavi said.

The first phase of this three-phase overhaul has included upgrades to Glendora Avenue, between Nelson Avenue and Hacienda Boulevard, and upgrades to Hacienda Boulevard between Nelson and Temple avenues, Public Works Director Rene Salas said.

If all goes according to schedule, repairs to the last portion of phase one – Hacienda Boulevard from Temple to Glendora avenues – should be completed Saturday.

“The first phase are the main lines for the city,” Salas said. “These are lines that were mostly undersized and needed to be replaced.”

Salas said the city has received complaints from residents about ongoing construction along the city’s main thoroughfare – Hacienda Boulevard – but officials are trying to minimize the inconvenience.

“It is a major street and unfortunately the public has had to endure the ongoing construction but we’re trying to get it done as quickly as we can,” he said.

Salas said he hopes to begin construction on the second phase of sewer repairs by the end of March.

While bonds are mostly paying for the first phase of the project, Lujan said the city has yet to secure money for the last two phases.

Last year, the City Council shot down a sewer fee hike proposal that would have helped pay for the upgrades.

Lujan said as of now, rate hikes are neither on nor off the table.

“At the end of the project, it will be worth it,” Lujan said. “Our water supply will be safe and our sewer system as a whole will be a lot more secure.”